Review and Giveaway: Kyle by RJ Scott

Title: Kyle (Legacy: Book One)

Author: RJ Scott

Publisher: Love Lane Books

Length: 150 Pages (Kindle)

Category: Contemporary, Western

At a Glance: An engrossing story of two damaged men who find strength, hope and love.

Reviewed By: Lindsey

Blurb: Two men destroyed by the past learn to live—and love—again.

Kyle Braden has nowhere else to go. With no money and no prospects, he turns to the only man who promises him help. Jack Campbell-Hayes wants to show Kyle that he can be more than he ever thought.

Kyle begins to see how far he’s come from being the scarred man who shut everyone out, when the first person through the doors of Legacy Ranch is Jason; a young man with nightmares that follow him when he’s awake.

Lost in the system and with three years on the streets marking every inch of his body, Jason Smith is scared. His life is an evil mess of hate and despair, and even the offer of a fresh start and a clean bed isn’t enough for him feel safe. Until Kyle comes into his life and shows him that it’s okay not to be in control.

For these broken men, Legacy Ranch offers more than a place to live and work.

It offers hope.

A new story set in the world of Jack and Riley Campbell-Hayes and the Double D Ranch, Texas.

Review: First, as stated in the blurb, this is a spin-off of RJ Scott’s Texas Series and, fans of Jack & Riley Campbell-Hayes, we do get to see how they are doing, as well as the host of other characters we came to adore. But the focus of this story is on Legacy and the two men bringing it to life. Though I wouldn’t say you must read the Texas series before jumping into this book, I will say it does explain a lot of the characters and backstory, specifically for Kyle.

Kyle has been given an opportunity to join the Double D Ranch, and his role is to become the future foreman for Legacy (the center on the Double D property aimed to help people in need). Jack & Riley Campbell-Hayes have given him the option and he accepts the offer. It is not without difficulty. He is somewhat comfortable with (if a little wary of) Jack, but has issues connecting with Riley, which is very problematic since Riley seems to need Kyle to like him. Although Kyle’s reasons for distancing himself from Riley are understandable—he is the only one who knows them. Not only Riley causes him difficulty but being there brings back a lot of history he has been running from. He remains standoffish and focused on his assignment rather than forming attachments.

Jason gets himself into quite the mess, and, although Legacy is not completed, he needs what Jack Campbell-Hayes is offering. He arrives and is assigned to assist Kyle in completing the building. He is wary and always waiting for the shoe to drop. He comes off as confident, but there is a lot lurking beneath the surface and he experiences depression and “black” moments.

Both men remain out on the Legacy land, in tents, with nothing but each other and horses for the majority of their time. Neither one of them has outrun their past nor the effect is has on them, but they may be just what each other needs to move forward.

This book is on the serious side, as it deals with the aftermath of two men who have been abused in different ways, and how they are trying to move beyond what they have been through. The abuse doesn’t necessarily occur on page, but rape is discussed and described to some extent and at times is prevalent in the thoughts of one of the protagonists. Both MCs’ pasts are not pretty and at times it was difficult reading through their experiences. Even so, RJ Scott did a wonderful job at keeping their internal dialogue and emotions realistic. I appreciated that there was no “master cure” for both the men. They struggle, they continue to struggle. They had good days where it seemed better, but there was regression. The abuse they both suffered does not just go away, and the author did not magically make something so traumatic disappear because Kyle and Jason found one another.

Despite the gritty and difficult background of Jason and Kyle, I found this book to be about strength and hope. Jason and Kyle find strength within themselves and with each other. They confront difficult situations and thoughts, and force themselves out of their comfort zones—trying to prevail over their pasts. Hope comes in the form of Legacy and what that means not only to Jason and Kyle, but to those who will eventually come through the doors and need that helping hand to get them back on their feet, that there are people out there who want nothing in return but to see others given a chance at happiness.

I thoroughly was engrossed in this story, cheering each milestone and achievement Kyle and Jason made on the way to their HEA. I very much recommend this book with the caveat to be aware of the subject matter that may hold some triggers.

You can buy Kyle here:

[zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2c3GEbw” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Love Lane Books [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://amzn.to/2cbQ7uD” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon US [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2bGf2YZ” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Amazon Int’l [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2c3GAsk” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] All Romance eBooks [/zilla_button][zilla_button url=”http://bit.ly/2c3H8hA” style=”blue” size=”medium” type=”round” target=”_blank”] Kobo [/zilla_button]

The Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js